Sport In The Province (From Our Own Correspondent)

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 662, 14 May 1929, Page 7

Sport In The Province (From Our Own Correspondent)

Rugby Union u. HAMILTON Keen interest was evinced in the j second series oi matches in the Hamil- r ton competitions on Saturday. Ideal conditions prevailed. Old Boys, after a hard-fought game, vanquished City, winners of last season’s competitions, by 13 points to 3. Old Boys were in good rorm and showed far more dash than their opponents, who, however, were foemen worthy of their steel. Johnston, Collins and Graham each secured tries for the winners, the latter proving a distinct asset to his side. 1-lq.lstead was in better fettle and converted two tries. Among the losers. Going, Allen and Skeet were prominent, while Grant, the only score-getter, showed himself to be quite a nippy half. There was little bright, open play in the Technical Old Boys—Frankton game, won by the former team 15—6. The Frankton backs were given plenty of chances, but failed to take them. Mitchell and Dalbeth mixed things well for Technical and Priscott, Barlow and Griffiths impressed among the Frankton van. Marist secured an easy victory over Old Boys B, the final tallies being; 19—6. P. Clarkin kicked two penalties and converted two tries. L. Clarkin gained two tries and McCormack one try. For Old Boys Pearson and Madill proved a willing pair, the former notching both tries. THAMES Followers of the law of averages were rather nonplussed last Saturday when the City Club, whose ranks included six last year’s rep. players—A. Lomas (captain), A. Winder, T. Dufty, F. Moran, R. Smith afid L. White — were defeated by College Old Boys by 9 points to 3. Old Boys fielded a better pack than last Saturday, W. Percy and W, Brunton being included. G. Buchanan, the C. 0.8. winger, who scored two tries, played an especially good game. The other three points was a penalty goal by J. Cooney. It was City’s first game, and it played as such, but the material is there foi vast improvement. Its three points came from a field goal by F. Moran. Half-way through the game the C. 0.8. captain, E. Kelly/- was ordered off for allegedly asking the referee the definition of an amended rule. Mr. R. Henderson had charge of the whistle. An inter-club match was played •between Turua (Hauraki Plains) juniors and a similar combination from the Physical Training Club. Both teams played in the same-coloured jerseys, and Referee F. Vedder did the best he could under the circumstances. P.T.’s came out on top with 13 points to Turua’a 9. In .the third-grade competition the High School boys had a win from Physical Training, the scores being 12 to 8. Mr. E. Griffin controlled the game The junior cup match. Ramblers v. College Old Boys, played at Wharepoa Road, was won by Ramblers, 9 points C. 0.8. 3. WAIHI In the Waihi Rugby Union ,Cup competition, the reorganised Waikino team met Athletic on the Waihi Recreation Ground on Saturday, in ideal weather. The teams were evenly matched, and during the first three-quarters of the game neither side could claim an advantage, but in the last quarter Athletic showed a slight superiority, too late, however, to snatch a victory, the result being a draw. 3 points each. For Athletic, MqConnel. Hales, Walters and Warn© showed good form, and Hume, Snodgrass, Mather and Luther were the best of the Waikino fifteen. Hales scored a try for Athletic and Snodgrass scored, for "Waikino. Mr. R. Walsh was referee. DARGAVILLE F. Somers, playins for United (Kailiuj in their match against Northern Star (Tangiterox'ia) on Saturday, gave a splendid exhibition as a forward. A nippy, crafty player. lie scored two tries in such a convincing manner that he proved a big thorn in the side of the opposition. The “Star” backs were not equal to the occasion. United’s walk-over victory of 18 to nil was due to much better combination than that displayed by the opposing fifteen. The tries in each case were resultant upon fine passing movements. J. White and Foy scored a try each and Foy converted two and Nathan the other. Pocklington, White and Nathan did good work in the backs for United. Northern Star, heavier in the torwards, lacked combination. They showed a slight improvement upon their previous match, however. The inclination to kick the ball too much instead of passing and keeping possession. was noticeable with both sides, although Star kicked more than United MATAMATA Walton beat Waharoa at Matamata by 8 points to 3 in a poor exhibition of the code. Neither team showed any combination in the backs and the gam© was mostly a forward scramble from whistle to whistle. Wright and Faw* sett scored tries for Walton, and Aka kicked a penalty for Wakaroa. Aka was in a class by himself among the backs, and. ho must go near representative honours. In the junior match, Matamata Old Boys v. Hinuera, played at Hinuera, Tirig, of the Old Boys’ team, had his leg broken. TE AWAMUTU Korakonui had to exert itself to beat Mangahoe by 11 points to S. T game was exciting from start to finish, and created no little interest. The forwards were evenly matched, and the -winners followed up well, therebv spoiling the combination of the opposing backs. Kay Winter and Kelly were prominent for Korakonui, and Jackon (2) for Mangahoe worked hard. The match between Pirongia and United was not of a high order, and little interest was taken in the game by the public. Pirongia, which won by 16 points to 9. was the better team, the backs. Bell, Bell. Macky indulging in some useful passing rushes. United played below its usual form, the backs principally being at fault. The fullback failed to field the oail cleanly, thus letting bis side down on more than one ocacsion. United has lost 10 or its last season’s players. Te Awamutu journeyed to Waikeria and defeated the home team by 80 points to 3. Rovers were successful against Nguhunui to the tune of 27 points to nil. They wall prove hard to beat. The following team has been selected to .represent Waipa in its representative match against Otorohanga ’at Otorohanga next Saturday Fullback. A. Telfer (Korakonui); threequarters, R. Sinclair (Te Awamutu). E. Jeffries (Te Awamutu). .G. Tickelpenny (Rovers): five-eighths, P. Quin (Te Awamutu). E. Bell (Pirongia): half, B. Wilkes (United); rover, L. Kay (Korakonui)): back row, W. Pollard (Korakonui), X. Cruickshank (Korakonui): side row, G. Thomson (Korakonui). R. Goble (Rovers): lock. Edwards (Te Awamutu): front row. E. Holmes (Te Awamutu), Ward (Te

Awamutu). Emergencies: Backs. R. ] Jackson (Mangahoe) and B. Kilby (Korakonui); forwards, B. Quin (Te | Awamutu) and B. O’Halloran (Kora- I konui). OPOTIKI The first round of tfie Opotiki Rugby competition was concluded on Satu’’- j day, when Country defeated Triple Links, 17 —S. Roe, hall, C. Black, for ; ward, and McKay, fullback, played wel 1 i for Country. Black, who has represented New Zealand in the Maori team, has lost none of his dash, and despite his age, is still a great player. Mackay. the Bay of Plenty representative fullback. who was unfortunate last year to break his ankle, is considered by supporters of the game to be better than ever, his placing at times being uncanny. Hunt, the big Triple Links forward, should find a place in the Opotiki representative team, as his goal-kicking is out of the ordinary. He just missed landing a goal from half-way by about a foot. Country piled on 14 points in •the third quarter. Apart from this, play was very even. The City v. Te Hui game was very evenly contested, the most outstanding incident being the ordering-off of E. Kelly and Isaacs, two opposing players. Harriman, at half for City, played an outstanding game, and it looks certain that he will again find his place in the reps, this year. ROTORUA The star attraction at Rotorua on Saturday was the game between Waikite and City seniors. Waikite showed its superiority by beating City to the tune of 27 to 14. As the scores indicate, the game was fast, considering the early stage of the season. For Waikite, North, M. Morrison, T. Morrison (3), Davis and Wallace scored tries, while "Gunboat Rogers added the extra points. City’s scorers were Wallace and McLaren, assisted by a penalty each by Hinton and Cooper, who also converted one try. For the winners. North, T. Morrison and Garry in the backs were the pick, and Iremonger and Morgan in the forwards were Trojans for work. City was well served by Smith and Cooper in the forwards, and McLaren. Basham and Dawson in the backs. The losing team lacked finish, but should improve in another game or The bush team (Mamaku) was unfortunate to go down to Kahukura, but the older hands possessed more experience. The back work of both teams was not up to standard, and the game resolved itself into a forward battle, with occasional bright passing rushes in the backs. Kahukura emerged victors by 14 points to 6, the scorers being Simmonds, Goodson, MacDonald and Richards. One try was converted by Scott. The forward toilers were Scott and MacDonald, ably assisted by Young, Simmonds and Richards in the backs. Mamaku possessed the “goods,” but their efforts were handicapped by lack of combination, which was also evident in the wunners. However. they made a creditable showing and should, in the near future, be a strong factor in the competition for the cup. Bradshaw, I the outstanding back, scored a try and kicked a penalty, and was ably : assisted by Baker. The forwards were held together by the good work of Narby and Barker. The -junior games were much of a muchness, the best exhibition being that between High School and City. : High School’s combination and superiority in knowledge stood them in good ! stead, and they won by 11 to 0. Ngongotaha, the newly-formed club of juniors, deserved its win from WaiI kite, owing chiefly to fitness and i ability attained by early practice. It i won by 6 points to nil.after a hard- : fought game. f The Kahukura juniors journeyed to Mamaku and after a gruelling contest with the village team neither side had scored, the game ending in a draw. TAUMARUNUI

Two matches for the Grattan Banner were played on Saturday. At Taumarunui. Athletic defeated United by 14 to 11, and at Ongarue the home team downed Taumarunui by 3 to nil. The game at Taumarunui was fast from the kick-off, and the players on both sides showed plenty of dash. There was a good deal of give and take till near the end, by which time the points stood 11 to 11. Fast play ensued, and Lee, for Athletic, started a passing rush, eventually transferring to Maclntyre, who, after, a good run, lost possession, but Eden was in close attendance and registered the winning try. Coffee’s kick failed. The junior match, United v. Athletic, resulted in a win for the former by 18 to 5. MANUKAU Fast, interesting play characterised the match between the Clevedon and Drury fifteens on Saturday, the former emerging the victor by 11 points to nil. The tackling of both teams showed an improvement. The home side, Drury, fielded a number of new players and was weaker than last season. The play of the Clevedon fifteen was of a decidedly better standard than in the match with Papakura the previous week. For the winner Luke scored one try, C. Stephens converted, while W. Stephens and P. Brown each secured penalty goals. Papakura registered its second win in succession in the game against Valley Rovers (Hunua), the score being 16-5. Play was fast, but not spectacular. In the Papakura rear division Francis. Peebles, Wilson and Barakat figured prominently. Johnson was the outstanding packman. He played a dashing game. For the home fifteen. C. Robinson and S. Wilson were the most useful backs and J. Sunjich the .best forward. Papakura’s scoring was made up by Johnson securing two tries, Hamilton and Barakat one each, and Francis converting two. For Valley Rovers. C. Robinson scored and converted. FRANKLIN The Pukekohe and the Franklin Rugby Sub-Unions’ -matches for Saturday were postponed on account of the Franklin races. MORRINSVILLE The Morrinsville Union concluded the first of three rounds of its senior competition on Saturday. The fixture of most interest was the meeting of the leader, United, and Kereone United retained its unbeaten record, but could not do better than a draw. A doubtful try scored against United was referred to at the union meeting on Saturday evening, so that maybe United supporters ca.n consider they were unlucky. The game was not a bright one, although there was some hard forward play. The Waikato fullback, S. Thomas, playing for Kereone, was not up to form, and will have to improve to maintain his reputation. The other senior game was between Terriers, last year’s runners-up. and Tatuanui. Terriers won by 7 points to 5, but it is probable that the result may be upset. At the time of* writing it is stated that a protest is being lodged by Tatuanui on the grounds that Terriers played a man who is not residing within the union’s boundaries. This apart, the match showed

Tatuanui as a greatly improved tea.m and indications are that it will be troublesome in the remaining two rounds. BAY OF ISLANDS The Kaikohe team left the field victorious after meeting Ngawha on Saturday with the score a penalty goal to nil. The Kaikohe team was changed from last Saturday, but the game was not so spectacular, close, tight forward play being dominant throughout. Jackson is a splendid addition to the forwards, his dribbling being very effective. Hows gave another good display. It. Edwards, as usual, was in the thick of all the heavy work with good- 1 support from the others. Amos at half kept the game open when possible. Heke and Williams did good work, and were within an ace of scoring on two occasions. Pemw was the best of the tlireeauarters, Matene improving on last week. Hanapa at full was very sound, taking the ball well and sending into safety. The Ngawdia team has been strengthened by the Fyfe brothers on the threequarter line and Thompson at fullback, and their game on Saturday was 100 per cent, better than their previous game two weeks ago. With a little more practice and combination they will be very close to. if not the leaders of, premiership honours when the fixtures are completed. Thompson at full was very sound, his long kicks being very effective. The Fyfe brothers, with Raweka, will be a powerful threequarter line by the end of the first round. The Dalton brothers at five-eighths, gave a good display, George in particular being a thorn in the sides of his opponents by his fast following-up preventing them from kicking on several occasions. W. Watling at half was weak. D. Te Haara was the best forward, M. Rogers and J. Whiu giving good assistance. The passing of both teams was mediocre, each side losing oppor- ; tunities of scoring through bad passes j and fumbling. Combination was also lacking, although great work was done individually. Other results are:—Okaihau beat Ohaeawai,'6-3; Kawakawa beat Waihou, 14-3. Junior: Kawakawa beat Okaihau, 11-3. THE ’‘CLUB” SYSTEM At the annual meeting of the Waikato Rugby Union a motion, proposed by a Morrinsville delegate, Mr. C. M. G. McDavitt, that the management committee investigate the "club” svstem (as played in Taranaki) for adoption by the union, instead of the sub-union system at present worked. was carried. At* Saturday evening’s meeting of the Morrinsville Union the matter was discussed at length. With the exception of Mr. McDavitt. all the members were strongly opposed to the proposal and delegates were instructed to vote accordingly When the matter is again brought forward at the Waikato Union’s meeting.